


Backbeat

by skylinesunflowers



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: American Politics, Gen, Introspection, SHIELD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28172850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skylinesunflowers/pseuds/skylinesunflowers
Summary: Introspection after a mission, Maria Hill style.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Backbeat

After a long week of critical thinking, Maria doesn’t have the mental capacity to worry about anything that doesn’t possess an imminent threat to national security.

It doesn’t help that some of the first term Congress members act like children, or that they decry any and all national intelligence agencies in public and never force through any legislature. Politicians are all two-faced, her father, Robert, used to say. He’s not exactly wrong.

Phil walks her out. He’s not disheveled exactly (at the top level, none of them are), but he has a few scrapes across his face.

They don’t really talk, both probably prepping for the inevitable adrenaline crash that accompanies these high-stakes, red-tape missions that nobody but the WSC and the President will ever know occurred.

Maria’s looking forward to burning this jacket. And the pants. And her hair tie. Possibly just burning down the agency and quitting.

“Tough day,” Phil comments. She rolls her eyes. The empty tram taking them to the parking lot is silent and uncomfortably sterile.

Maria doesn’t really have plans for when she gets home. A shower, obviously, and she’ll either order in from the pizza place or just eat ice cream. Yes, she eats ice cream. This is common knowledge.

She might watch _Madam Secretary_. She’s on the third season now. Or she could read the biography she found. Maria can’t remember the title, but it’s something her younger self would be neglecting paperwork for. After all, she was an avid collector of newspaper clippings about Carol Danvers and Maria Rambeau.

The tram pulls to a halt and Phil lets go of the steel railing. “Well, bye, then.”

Her car’s in the next lot over, so Maria pulls out her phone to pass the time. Pepper, who’s literally her only female friend, sent a picture of whatever date night Tony has planned for them. Maria should go out on a date some time.

She gets off in Lot B and climbs into her car. It’s chilly, but the heat comes on fairly quickly. That’s just one of its many perks, including a half-decent radio and heated seats she never uses.

The drive to her tiny apartment isn’t much more than twenty minutes. Twenty minutes in this too-tight jacket and pants, but she can make it. It’s disgusting, but she’s used to dealing with things she doesn’t want to.

She flicks on the corner lap and it illuminates the tiny apartment. It’s dark, and the kitchen is just basically part of the living room, but it’s okay. It works.

Maria drops her bag on the couch and goes into the bedroom. She takes out one of her old shirts from the Air Force and a pair of black, stretchy shorts, and puts them on the bathroom counter.

Her movements are inconsequential, and that just throws her off balance a little bit.

No one’s life is going to be changed if she twists the knob for the hot water. A pause to take a deep breath won’t result in a mass murder, or the looming threat of Congress breathing down her back.

She pulls her hair into a makeshift bun at the base of her back and steps into the shower. The water’s lukewarm at best. Federal agents don’t have some of the highest salaries.

Maria doesn’t know exactly when she starts to think about her father, but by the time she’s changed into nicer clothes, she’s thinking about all the times he’s never been proud of her.

She’s read Carol Danvers’s biographies before. She knows they’re somewhat alike, except Danvers died a hero and she’s a federal agent. Hero to some, but a nuisance to many.

Maria goes to the freezer, fishes out a box of coffee ice cream, gets a spoon, and collapses on the sofa. She switches to Netflix and puts _Madam Secretary_ on.

She sighs and digs the spoon into the box of ice cream. Maria’s been thinking all week. She really doesn’t want to think anymore.

(She still ends up yelling at the television, but that’s after she takes a two-hour nap.)


End file.
